Minnie Kendall Lowther, from her 1911 book, History of Ritchie County

Minnie Kendall Lowther (March 17, 1869 — September 18, 1947) was an American journalist, editor, and local historian. Her name sometimes appears as Minnie Kendall-Lowther.

Early life

Minnie Kendall Lowther was born near present-day Fonzo, West Virginia, the daughter of William George Lowther and Emily Jane Kendall Lowther. Her father was a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War. She was descended from a colonel in the American Revolution, William Lowther.[1]

Career

Minnie Kendall Lowther began working as a teacher, but she left the classroom after injuries from an accident in her twenties. She used a wheelchair for several years, during which she began writing local history articles for The Ritchie Standard newspaper. Her articles became the basis of her 1911 book, History of Ritchie County.[2]

Lowther edited several small West Virginia newspapers including The Pennsboro News, The Wetzel Republican The West Union Record, The Glenville Democrat, and The Upshur Record. Books by Lowther included Mount Vernon, Arlington and Woodlawn (1922),[3] Marshall Hall (1925), Friendship Hill, Home of Albert Gallatin (1928),[4] Mount Vernon, Its Children, Its Romances, Its Allied Families and Mansions (1932),[5] and Blennerhassett Island in Romance and Tragedy (1936).[6][7] She sometimes used the pen name Evangeline for publications.

Lowther was publicity chair of the West Virginia state Daughters of the American Revolution.[8] She also served on the State Advisory Committee of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association.[9]

Personal life

Minnie Kendall Lowther died in 1947, in Harrisville, West Virginia, aged 78 years. Her papers are archived at West Virginia University,[10] and at Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park. In 1990, an unpublished manuscript by Lowther, Ritchie County in History and Romance, was published by the Ritchie County Historical Society.[11]

References

  1. ↑ Daughters of the American Revolution, Lineage Book 84(1926): 173.
  2. ↑ Minnie Kendall Lowther, History of Ritchie County: With Biographical Sketches of Its Pioneers and Their Ancestors, and with Interesting Reminiscences of Revolutionary and Indian Times (Wheeling News Litho Company 1911).
  3. ↑ Minnie Kendall Lowther, ''Mount Vernon, Arlington and Woodlawn: History of These National Shrines from the Earliest Titles of Ownership to the Present, with Biographical Sketches, Portraits, and Interesting Reminiscences of the Families, who Founded Them (C. H. Potter & Company 1922).
  4. ↑ Minnie Kendall Lowther, Friendship Hill, Home of Albert Gallatin (Friendship Hill Association 1928).
  5. ↑ Minnie Kendall Lowther, Mount Vernon: Its Children, Its Romances, Its Allied Families and Mansions (John C. Winston and Company 1932).
  6. ↑ Minnie Kendall Lowther, Blennerhassett Island in Romance and Tragedy; The Authentic Story of Blennerhassett Island, with the Burr Episode Entwined about It; the Romance and Mystery of the Blennerhassetts; Burr Under Footlights and Shadows; Tragedy of Theodosia Burr (Tuttle, 1936).
  7. ↑ Ray Swick, "Minnie Kendall Lowther" The West Virginia Encyclopedia (2015).
  8. ↑ "Accomplishment of D. A. R. in State" Bluefield Daily Telegraph (January 31, 1926): 20. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  9. ↑ "West Virginia Men Urge Ratification" The Woman Citizen (January 17, 1920): 737.
  10. ↑ Minnie Kendall Lowther Papers, West Virginia and Regional History Collection, West Virginia University Libraries.
  11. ↑ Minnie Kendall Lowther, Ritchie County in History and Romance (McClain Printing Company 1990).
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